Explosive compound



Unrrnn STATES PATENT @rricnl HARRY l). VAX CAMDEN, ()l BELMONT, ASSlGXOll TO BYRON ALFORD, O1

OLEAY, YEW YORK.

-.EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND.\

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 288,516, dated November 13, 1883.

Application filed August 14,1882. (Specimens) To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, IIARRY D. VAN CAMPEN,

a citizen of the United States of America, re-' siding at Belmont, in the county of Allegany andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Explosive Compounds, of which the following is a speciiieation.

My invention relates to an im nroved explosive compound to be used for blasting and other purposes,in which nitrdglycerine is combined with other materials to form an explosive that is safe to handle, will not accidentab.

1y explode under ordinary circumstances, although it will exert a tremendous force when exploded in the proper manner, and will not leave noxious fumes behind it after explosion. ,lliany objections have been .i'ound by those using. any and all of the nitroglyeerine com- 7 2o' potlndsheretofore invented. lt hasbeent'ouud with many of the compounds is that some of the materials, when in contact with the nitroglycerine and kept in store sometime. grad ualiy decay, and by generating heatresuit in an explosion. All of the above objections I avoid in my compound, as I. hav proved by a long series of experiments and practical use.

111 making, my compound I. use the following ingredients, and in about llll proportion stated below: pulverized lznrburk, iii'iy parts; dext-rine, ten parts; eryolite, live parts; potassium nitrate, iil'teen parts; nitrogiycerine, twenty parts; total, one hundred parts. The dextrinc, cryolite, and potassium nitrate should be reduced to a line powder. The tan-bark iprel'er to grind very line, also; but it, is not actually necessary to make it very line or tosil'tit, as pieces the size of a bean would not do anyharni. These four ingredients I mix thoroughly in a wooden vat which holds about one thousand pounds of the compound, andthen slowly turn on the uitro-glycerine, stirring the whole together until the proper quantity ofthe nitroglycerinehasbeen mixed with the other ingredients, when I thoronghly work the whole together, as one would mix mortar,until the whole compound becomes a homogeneous pasty mass which is entirely safe to handle, as it can hardly be exploded 6ov unless by the aid of a percussioireap or some similar means.v \Vhile yet in a soft pasty con dition I pack it intin cartridgecases, in which condition it ready for use, or it can be transported for any distance with perfect safety.

The ad vantagesol the materials I use as absorbenl's with the nitroglycerin e I believe to be the following: The tanbark forms a cheap yet good absorbent. Thedextrinegvhendalnpened with the liquid, forms a kind of cement, which by standing only becomes dryer and holds together the compound. It thus serves to hold the nil'ro-glycerine and. prevent it from settling to the lower part of the compound after-standing a whilc,which is a serious objeclion in the compounds of this class heretofore in use, assuchsettlementimpairs the'uniformit y of the compound andrenders it dangerous to handle. Moreover, thedextrine is entirely consumed by the oxygen of the potassium nitral e along with ta n-bark, thus materially adding to the explosive power,' while at the same time, by aggregating the mass, it modifies the explosive power ofthe compound, rendering it less percussive in action, and enhancing its lilting or rending 'l'orce. The cryolite, when dampened with the liquid, also acts, like the dextrine, as an adhesive material, helping to unite and dry the other materials when kept long in store, andlicsidesthisits absorbing capaciiy is so great that a pound cartridge of which this material forms a part will, I believe, be smaller than a cartridge formed of any other compound having a similarquantity oi'nili'o-e'lyccrine. a preservative cilect on the other materials, and prevents any tendency to decay.

I prefer to mix my ingredients .in about the proportions specihed, but do not limit myself to them, as they may be varied considerably 100 without departing from the spirit of my invention.

'lhepotassium nilratehas 

